By Eleni P. Austin
It’s hard to believe Jonathan Rice is 30 years old. This kid has the best of both worlds, his fresh-faced countenance means he will probably spend the next ten years being carded at bars, but his youthful appearance belies a lifetime of experience.
Jonathan Rice was born in Virginia to Scottish parents. His youth was split between Alexandria and Glasgow. By his teen years, Rice was obsessed with music, everything from Gram Parsons and the Pixies, to Neil Young and the Zombies.
At age 18, Rice announced that he wanted to make music his career. Luckily he had been befriended by Chris Keup, a Washington, D.C. musician who owned the tiny Grantham Dispatch record label. Keup assisted Rice in recording Heart And Mind, a self-released EP.
In 2001, Rice’s Parents reluctantly allowed him to move to York City. A bargain was struck, he had a year to secure a contract with a major recording label, or he would return to Virginia and go to college.
Rice arrived two days before 9/11. By night, he was gigging around Manhattan and Brooklyn, most prominently at the Living Room, (where Norah Jones was discovered). By day, he cycled through a series of day jobs, (dog-walker, waiter and telemarketer) trying to make ends meet.
A year had elapsed, Rice was packing up to return home when he got a call from Perry Watts-Russell. The venerable A&R man (Radiohead, Everclear, the Dandy Warhols), had heard the EP, and wanted to sign Rice to Warner Bros.
By age 21, Jonathan Rice made preparations to record his major label debut. He hooked up with producer and multi-instrumentalist, Mike Mogis. As part of the Nebraska record label, Saddle Creek, Mogis had produced records for indie darlings like Bright Eyes, Azure Ray and Rilo Kiley.
Rice and Mogis holed up at Presto Studios in Lincoln, Nebraska. His first full-length effort, Trouble Is Real, appeared in 2005. Breathy and earnest, it was an ambitious 16 track record, equal parts Neil Young and Nick Drake.
Even before the record was released, it seemed as though Rice was the belle of the Indie-Rock ball. He portrayed Roy Orbison in the Academy Award-winning Johnny Cash bio-pic, “Walk The Line.” He was also a sought after opening act, touring with Jessie Harris, Martha Wainwright and R.E.M.
By 2006, Rice had joined Jenny Lewis’ touring band. (A former child actor and ex lead singer for Rilo Kiley, Lewis was the Annette Funicello of Indie-Rock.) Lewis had just released a countrified solo record with the Watson Twins. By the end of the tour, Rice and Lewis had collaborated on several songs, seven of which appeared on Jonathan Rice’s sophomore effort Further North. The duo also began a romance.
Now Jonathan Rice was traveling in even more rarified circles. During the production of Lewis’ second solo album, Acid Tongue, the couple was joined by ”Farmer” Dave Scher (Beachwood Sparks), along with Chris Robinson (Black Crowes) and Elvis Costello with his long time drummer, Pete Thomas.
The loose-limbed sessions for Acid Tongue inspired the ever-prolific Costello write a new album, Momofuku. The same crew recorded the entire album in three days!
Settling in Laurel Canyon, in Los Angeles, Lewis and Rice soaked up the post-hippie ambience. Inspired by the infamous bohemian enclave, they began recording as the duo, Jenny & Johnny. Their debut, I’m Having Fun Now arrived in 2010.
Now Jonathan Rice has returned with his third solo effort, Good Graces. Taking a page from the Elvis Costello playbook, the album was written in a month and recorded in two different studios in the course of 11 days.
The album kicks off with the impossibly catchy “Acapulco Gold.” Lush harmonies, shimmery guitars and a hand-clap beat give the song a laid-back, early ‘70s feel. The lyrics conjure up tongue-in-cheek parallel worlds that Rice might have inhabited… “Could’ve been a banker like my dad, or a speed freak like my brother Sam, Coulda held a Walgreens up for pills and spent six months on the lam/Instead I gave my love to a girl with eyes like smoke, we live free of wrath and judgment, smokin’ Acapulco Gold.”
Three tracks here serve as love letters to Jenny Lewis. “My Heart Belongs To You” blends keening guitar riffs, urgent vocals and player-piano runs. Rice’s sentiments are sweet and sincere… “I have so much to learn from you, you are the one who taught me how to live and love without regretting/ I owe you more than I could pay you, you’re the love of my life.”
“Empty Head” is anchored by a fluttery stop-start rhythm, plangent pedal steel and sunburst guitar breaks. Here Rice lets down his guard… “I always knew it would be you, it only took me half my life to say it to you.”
Finally strumming acoustic guitars collide with sonorous, organ fills on the title track. The lyrics offer up a sly mea culpa following a lovers’ quarrel. Rice’s relief seems palpable, but he can’t resist adding a mischievous aside…”I’m forgiven, it feels so good, but I might do wrong just to feel it again.”
Rice has upped his game since his last solo effort. Good Graces includes a couple of flat-out rockers. “Nowhere At The Speed Of Sound” weds whip crack percussion, wah-wah guitar and cascading piano notes to lyrics that urge the listener to live in the moment.
“Lou Rider” is a pithy homage to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. Rice emulates the Godfather Of Punk’s laconic drawl. Jenny Lewis, Z Berg, Chandra and Leigh Watson provide “doot-do-doot” backing vocals that take a walk on the wild side. Meanwhile the lyrics chronicle the pan sexual days at Andy Warhol’s Factory.
Other interesting tracks include the wistful ramble of “Soldiers” and “Surfer’s Lament.” The former is an aching meditation life’s inequities. The melody and instrumentation of the latter feels like “Ghost Riders In The Sky”-meets-“Miserlou.”
The album closes with a cover of Jonathan Richman’s “That Summer Feeling.” (Richman was the Proto-Punk who co-founded The Modern Lovers, and wrote classic smart-ass anthems like “Road Runner” and “Pablo Picasso.”)
Spare and subtle, accompanied by amplified acoustic guitar, hushed backing vocals and brushed drums the lyrics capture the ephemeral feeling of time slipping through our fingers…”If you’ve forgotten what I’m naming, you’re going to long to reclaim it one day/’Cause that summer feeling is going to haunt you one day in your life.”
Clocking in at just under31 minutes, there is nary a wasted motion on Good Graces. It is self-produced by Rice with some assistance from multi-instrumentalist “Farmer”Dave Scher (who plays piano, keyboards, lap steel, pedal steel vibes and guitar). They are joined by Dawes bassist, Wiley Gelber and ex-Rilo Kiley drummer, Jason Boesel. Jessie Harris provided supple guitar licks on “That Summer Feeling.”
Luckily Jonathan Rice’s parents had enough faith in him to let him pursue his passion for music. Academia’s loss is our gain.
